Fountain pen



Patented Feb. 2G, 1951 Application September 11, 1947, Serial No. '773,359 In Great Britain September 19, 1946 (Cl. L20-47) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to fountain pens and to the kind wherein the ink reservoir is constituted by a sac formed of a yieldable material such as india rubber so that it can be subjected to compression for the expulsion of air to enable ink to enter the said reservoir when the compression is relaxed.

Fountain pens constructed as above described are subject to the disadvantage that, owing to the nature of the compressing means employed, complete lcompression is not practicable with the result that it has, hitherto, been impossible to utilise to the full the` volumetric capacity of the reservoir.. Further, the use of a lever adapted to vbe raised from the side of the pen barrelto perform the nlling operation is also a disadvantage as this lever is liable to catch in the pocket or on other articles therein whereby escape of ink from the pen may occur.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved fountain pen construction designed to avoid the disadvantages set out in the preceding paragraph: to enable a Very Substantial proportion of the volume of the reservoir sac to be eiciently used at every lling: to provide an increased reservoir space as compared with the existing pen structures of similar size: and to provide a pen structure which is simple to manufacture and. to operate.

According to the invention a fountain pen is provided having a coinpressible sac type of reservoir wherein the means for expelling air from the sac preparatory to the filling operation are arranged to cause one end of the sac toroccupy temporarily an inverse position wherein it` lies within the opposite end which. communicates with the ink passage or feed.

According to a preferred form of the invention a fountain pen having a compressible sac type of reservoir is provided wherein the end of the sac remote from the rib is closed and connected to an axially movable hand operable device arranged to cause the outer end of the sac to be temporarily folded within the other end which communicates with the ink passage or feed.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show two pen constructions according to the invention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a fountain pen showing the position occupied when charged with ink,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pen shown in Fig. l, but showing the position occupied to expel air prior to lling.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the operating plunger.

Fig. 4 is a'longitudinal sectional view of an a1- ternative form of construction, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views of two forms of ink sacs appli-cable to either form illustrated in Figs. l to 4.

Referring nrst to Figs. 1 and 2 the fountain pen construction includes a barrel l having a nib section 2 attached at one end in any usual manner. The ink reservoir within the barrel is constituted by a tubular sac of india rubber, which is provided at one end with a terminal sleeve 3 adapted to be secured by the use of an adhesive to a nipple li on the nib section 2. The lower portion 5 ot the tubular sac, that is the portion nearer to the nib section, is of substantially cylindrical form, and is formed integral with an outer tapered portion 6, the material of which is of thinner cross section as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, so that it will yield readily to movement designed to fold it into the end portion 5. The portion 5 of the sac is of such diameter that it normally occupies, with small clearance, the total diameter of. that portion of the barrel which surrounds it and it forms` the larger part of the ink reservoir. The portion of the sac is of. such diameter that a more substantial clearance is formed between it and the inner wall of the barrel as shown inlig. l. The tapered form of the portion `6 of the sac is also a necessary feature in order that this portion shall readily fold Within the portion 5 when the operation of charging with ink is performed as' hereinafter described. Without the tapered formation the portion 6 of the sac would become adherent to itself when the folding operation commenced and thus impose a strain on the rubber material which would ultimately tear it, thetendency becoming increased as the'folding operation continued.

The end of the sac remote from the nib section is closed and is secured, as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a band or clip 'l around a necked portion 8 at the lower end of a plunger S. This plunger is'freely slidabl'e in a sleeve it` removably mounted within a screw threaded cap ll which closes the outer end of the barrel. The plunger can thereby be caused to slide axially through the sleeve IU by pressure applied to a knob or button i2 xed to its outer end, but during the normal use of the pen the plunger is completely enclosed by a cap I3, which makes screw-threaded engagement with the exterior of the sleeve I0 until it abuts against the cap ll. Within the plunger l2 is mounted a. coiled spring I4 whose outer end bears against the inner surface of the knob l2 and whose inner end bears against a transverse pin l5, which passes through longitudinal slots I6 formed y moved, pressure is applied to the knob I 2 to push the plunger 9 into the barrel. This operation causes the portion 6 of the sac to be pushed into the portion until the position shown in Fig. 2 is reached wherein a very substantial volume of air has been expelled, the only air space remaining being a small one between the adjacent ends of the sac. When pressure is relaxed on the knob 12, the spring 14 is free to expand, retract the plunger and restore the sac to the condition shown in Fig. 1, thereby inducing a charge of ink which substantially lls the sac.

The invention is not restricted to the employment of the spring and plunger device for causing collapse of the sac andrexpulsion of air from it. For example, the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 may be employed wherein the en d of the sac remote from the nib section is connected to a snortplunger 29, whose outer end is secured to a transverse pin ZI. rThis pin passes through a helical slot 22 in a sleeve 23 concentric with the plunger, whilst the extreme outer end of the pin 2I engages in a groove extending along the inner wall of the barrel in a direction parallel to the axis thereof. The upper end of the sleeve 23 is connected to a`screw-threaded stud 25 which in turn is connected to an external operating knob 26. With this arrangement, rotation of the knob 26 'and sleeve 23 in one direction causes inward progression of the pin 2I and plunger 29 to collapse the sac in the manner already described with reference to Fig. 1, whilst rotational movement of the knob 26 in the opposite direction will restore the sac to the expanded condition shown in Fig. 4, filling it with ink in the process.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 4 is particularly applicable to small sized fountain pens as effecting a saving in space within the barrel and reducing the overall length of the pen.

Figs. 5 and 6 show alternative forms of ink sac.

The form shown in Fig. 5 having a closed inner end 6' and being that employed in the example illustrated in Figs. l and 2. The form shown in Fig. 6 has an initially open inner end 6" and is shown in operative position in Fig. 4.

vIn either arrangement above described the i.

maximum possible use is made of the space within the barrel and as the compressing means does not extend longitudinally within the barrel, a greater ink carrying capacity is provided than has hitherto been possible.

The form of construction shown in Figs. l and 2 also possesses the advantage that the operation ISU of lling the pen can be eiected by one hand. Further, the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 enables the ends of the pen to be of tapered form where this is desired.

I claim:

' 1. A fountain pen comprising an elongated tubular barrel, a nib section at one end of said barrel carrying a pen point, a tubular ink reservoir sac having a cylindrical body portion connected at one end to the nib section to supply ink to the pen point and having a tapered portion of thinner wall thickness extending within the length of the barrel, a plunger endwise movably received in the end of the barrel beyond the tapered portion, and means connecting the end of the tapered portion with the inner end of the plunger with the thinner tapered wall portion of the sac rolled over and around the plunger, said thinner wall tapered portion and the plunger being of such diameter that upon inward movement the tapered portion rolled inside of the cylindrical body portion will substantially ll the same thereby substantially exhausting the entire ink reservoir.

2. A fountain pen comprising an elongated tubular barrel, a nib section at one end of said barrelA carrying a pen point, an elongated tubular ink reservoir sac having a cylindrical body portion K connected at one end with the point and having a taperedportion at its opposite end, said cylindrical body portion being of a diameter to substantially occupy the total diameter of the surrounding portion of the `barrel and being thus sustained against expansion and said tapered portion .being of thinner wall thickness than the cylindrical body portion to roll freely within the barrel, a plunger endwise movably received in the end of the tapered portion of the sac with the inner end of the plunger with the thinner tapered wall portion of the sac rolled over and around the plunger, said thinner wall tapered portion and the plunger being oi such diameter that upon inward movement the tapered portion rolled inside of the cylindrical body portion will substantially iill the same thereby substantially exhausting the entire ink reservoir.

EDWARD TERRELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

